Spinal disorders are a major cause of disability, both in the younger and aged population. In the young population, there is association between strenuous work like lifting and lumbar disc problems. In the aging population, osteoporosis of the vertebral bodies can result in vertebral compression fractures.
The spinal column consists of individual bones called vertebrae. These vertebrae are connected with soft cartilaginous disks between each vertebrae called intervertebral discs. From a lateral view, the spine has several curves (FIG. 1) which are termed as lordosis (convex anteriorly and concave posteriorly) and kyphosis (concave anteriorly and convex posteriorly).
Current surgical treatments for spinal disorders range from removal of regions of the vertebral body (laminectomy) to fusion of adjacent verterbral bodies to replacement of the intervertebral disc with an artificial disc. Newer therapies for treating back pain include ablation of nerves within the vertebral body or thermal coagulation of tissue with the intervertebral disc. Other therapies include using mechanical constructs attached to the spinal processes to stabilize the spine during flexion/extension. Some of the interventions are major surgical procedures with significant morbidity, failure rates and complications; while others address the symptoms (pain) without altering the underlying the cause of the disorder—unstable spine biomechanics.